Donut Patrol: Long Bread and Sweet Soy Milk

"Long bread" is the name given to the Chinese doughnuts on the menu at Classic Kitchen, Houston's most popular Chinese breakfast restaurant. The hot, crispy bread sticks are not sweet, but they are usually ordered with a bowl of hot sweetened soy milk. You dunk each bite of doughnut in the sweet liquid, which makes for a fascinating combination of flavors and textures.

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Wait a minute, astute observers of Donut Patrol might protest, you already wrote about the long bread, or you tiao, as its known in Chinese, at Classic Kitchen on Bellaire. Yes that's true, I admit. But on that occasion, I just walked into the restaurant and took a photo of somebody else's doughnuts (after politely requesting their permission). This time I sat down and sampled some.

The lady at the next table was holding her doughnut with chopsticks. Her husband and young son were holding their doughnuts with their fingers. I deduced that either approach is acceptable. And that's a good thing, because I don't think I could dunk a doughnut while holding it with chopsticks.

At almost every table in the restaurant that morning, customers had long bread, a bowl of sweet soy milk and a blow of a particular noodle soup. I tried to imitate the other patrons, but I didn't quite succeed. I asked several people about the soup, but nobody could tell me what it was exactly.

If anybody knows the name of the soup I would appreciate some help. Donut Patrol needs to get this Chinese doughnut thing right.